Kirksey visits

Tech. Sgt. Adam Janssen, 934th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight, discusses parts of the EOD mission and equipment with Command Chief Master Sgt. Cameron Kirksey, Air Force Reserve Command command chief, during his visit to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn. The visit allowed Chief Kirksey to personally see what the 934th Airlift Wing has to offer, as well as afford an opportunity for reserve and civilian personnel to directly address the Chief regarding benefits and challenges of serving in the Air Force Reserve. (U.S. Air Force photo by Shannon McKay/Released)

Kirksey visits

Command Chief Master Sgt. Cameron Kirksey, Air Force Reserve Command command chief, holds a Q&A session with members of the 934th Airlift Wing during a visit to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn. The visit allowed Chief Kirksey to personally see what the 934 AW has to offer, as well as afford an opportunity for reserve and civilian personnel to directly address the Chief regarding benefits and challenges of serving in the Air Force Reserve. (U.S. Air Force photo by Shannon McKay/Released)

AFRC command chief visits 934th

Published April 20, 2015
By Staff Sgt. Trevor Saylor
934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION -- AFRC Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Cameron Kirksey visited the 934th Airlift Wing and met with Airmen to hear about their concerns and answer questions about the Air Force Reserve Command. Chief Kirksey held an enlisted call to address wing enlisted members, and toured various offices on base April 9-11.

Chief Kirksey stressed the importance of understanding the nature of the Air Force Reserve. He spoke about the need for a balance between the commitment the reservists have made to the Air Force, but also their families and civilian employers. "Putting too much stress on the military side can imbalance the lives of reservists and ultimately lead to unsustainable workloads," he said. The Chief said that the Air Force Reserve leadership is cognizant of not putting too much stress onto the infrastructure of the Reserve.

Kirksey addressed the concern of many Reservists that too much time is spent on ancillary training during UTAs. He outlined an initiative the Air National Guard has undertaken over the last year--one the Air Force Reserve plans to look at in Fiscal Year 2016--to evaluate the format of ancillary training as well as the Computer-Based Training (CBT) concept. While no decisions have been reached, the Chief stressed that Air Force Reserve leadership is committed to reassessing the capabilities and skillsets needed to retain our warfighting edge.

Chief Kirksey stated that he is very pleased with how the 934th is operating today, and how they're going to operate in the future. He was pleased with the overall morale of the base, and expects bigger and better things to come from the unit in the future.

"The 934th is at the forefront of the Air Force Reserve Command and the leadership is impressed with the accolades the wing has earned, and its leading edge performance in the recent Capstone inspection," he said.